The Gym & Library :: GALE
by jaskalfuckingflynn
Summary: Modern AU. Every day, Levy visits a library in her home town, and Gajeel attends a gym across the street at the same time. The two, who always noticed each other, meet one day after Levy drops her house keys, and desperately tries to get to know him over lunch. They continually run into each other in town, and their relationship spikes. Rated M :: Future Lemon
1. CH 1

In the small, simple town of Magnolia, two buildings at the end of a dead-end street sat facing each other. A library stood on the left, an exercise gym on the right. The lot that separated the two at the direct end of the street was a simple parking area, use mutually by visitors of both establishments.

The library was frequented daily by a small, petite thing named Levy McGarden. Like the building before her, she was simple and reserved on the outside, but flourishing with knowledge and untapped potential on the inside. She was a pretty little lady, for certain. Her short blue hair swept beside her cheeks when she walked, the wind touching her skin and combing her hair as gently as it did to the sky. Her eyes were focused and bright, their magnificent hazel color catching the rays of the sun and gleaming as if the light was made exclusively to shine on her round face and cute nose.

She visited the library so often, the employees who worked there knew her on a first-name basis, and were always expecting her around the same time every day; 8:00am. She would stay for hours on end, only leaving when she had other business to attend to or when her thirst for knowledge had become quenched enough to last through the night.

On the opposing side of the street, the gym had an equally avid visitor. He was a tall, incredibly strong man, one who definitely looked like his biggest habit was exercise. His thick black hair was noticeable from a distance, both for its volume and length factor. He always seemed to have it combed back, off of his forehead, perhaps to show off the crazy amount of piercings he had. He sported a black duffel bag every day, which he slung over his shoulder. It was personalized, for his name had been stitched across the front of it in big, grey letters. "REDFOX". On any normal day, his expression was plain and his eyes were forward. He, too, showed up at his place of recreation at 8:00am.

In their punctuality, both parties had seen each other entering their respective buildings every day of the week without fail for many months. They never spoke, they never made eye contact, but they always noticed one another.

It was a day much like the others. Levy approached the library with a bag of her own dangling from her small frame, and Redfox mirrored her on the other side of the street. Redfox glanced over, familiar with her arrival, but paying little attention to it. She was wearing an orange dress with no sleeves, but wore a bandanna around the top of her head. It occurred to him, in that single glance, that this girl always wore something orange.

Redfox blinked purposely, removing his eyes from her. He was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of something shining from orange-girl's bag. He watched it fall out of her bag and land on the ground. He waited for her to turn around and pick it up. However, Levy failed to notice it and went in the library without it.

With a growled sigh, the exercise nut almost ignored the fallen object to go inside. His eyes darted back to the thing on the concrete without his control. There it was, in the middle of the walkway, shining and staring him in the face. Again, he growled, muttering how it wouldn't really wreck his routine to start two minutes later than usual. He crossed the street, picked up the thing Levy dropped, and entered the library.


	2. CH 2

It was safe to assume that Redfox hadn't been in the library before. He felt strange walking up to the building instead of just looking at it in a passing glance, but ignored the surreality for the sake of returning whatever it was the bookworm dropped.

The doors of the library opened and closed automatically, sliding shut behind him. He took a few steps forward and stopped, scanning the unfamiliar interior in search of the stranger, Levy. He sighed with a furrowed brow, unable to see her from where he was. He adjusted his bag for a search, holding the bottom of it with his empty hand to keep it from bumping into shelves and displays. He focused on people's heads, specifically looking for Levy's sky blue hair.

"Finding everything okay?" The voice came from a girl Redfox assumed to be an employee, given the name tag she had pinned to her shirt. He looked above and behind her, then down at her to answer.

"Do you know a girl with blue hair?" He asked, louder than he should have. The girl looked confused at the question and didn't have a chance to respond before Redfox continued, just as loudly as before. "Look, she comes in here every day. She dropped somethin' and I'd like to give it back."

"Oh, you mean Levy?"

"I don't know her name," He complained. "Do you know where she is or not?"

"Y-yeah, sorry. She's usually in the study area. Keep going down that stretch, turn left and it'll be straight ahead. You should keep your voice down," She mentioned, trying to be polite and personable. Redfox dismissed the behavior and went down to the study area without saying any thanks. The whole ordeal was seriously cutting into his routine.

Much to his luck, in the corner of the room, right next to a window, he caught sight of the familiar blue hair. Her back was turned, so she couldn't have seen him enter the area. He went up to her with his usual swagger, which was heavy and a little disruptive. Stepping sideways he pivoted around the side of the table and leaned over to see her face.

"Hey," He half-greeted, Levy looking up from her book. She took her glasses off, recognizing the man in front of her the second she saw him.

"Hi," She returned, a small smile on her face. It was the first time either of them had been so close, and in their shared moment of silence they took in each others' features. Redfox cleared his throat and put his hand out.

"You dropped this," He stated. Levy looked in his gloved hand to see her house keys resting in his palm and took a breath.

"Oh, thank you! I didn't realize I dropped them!" She took them from his hand, being careful in the way that strangers are not to touch his hand. Dropping them back into her bag and making sure they weren't going to fall out a second time, she giggled and looked back at him. "I guess it's pretty embarrassing!" Her hand automatically went to the back of her head, fingers twirling a lock of hair as she spoke.

"Don't mention it," Redfox's deep and gravelly voice answered. He shifted his red gaze away from the girl. She smiled, her shoulders rising a little when she did, and stopped him just before he was about to turn around.

"You're the guy who goes to the gym, right? Across the street?"

"...Yeah, I guess I am. And you're the library girl," He pointed out obviously. Levy's face turned pink at realizing how silly of a remark that was for her to make. Redfox gave her a final, noticeable sideways glance before taking his leave and not looking back. Levy watched him go, and kept an eye on the window when he exited. He crossed the street, thick black hair trailing behind him. She lost sight of him and sighed, both out of embarrassment and missed opportunity.

"I should have asked his name..." She mumbled, putting her glasses back on for more reading. However, both Levy and Redfox were too distracted throughout the day to concentrate on anything but each other.


	3. CH 3

Levy McGarden left the library earlier than usual, her mind still on the tall stranger who returned her keys. Seeing him up close for the first time after so many glances at a distance was both surreal and fulfilling, and she wanted to see him again. But not like she had every day before, she wanted to see him up close again.

So, she waited patiently and hopefully outside the gym for him to exit. A number of books at the ready in her bag made for a less than boring waiting period, but it seemed to last forever. The anticipation of seeing him again made her nervous. She almost backed out of waiting a number of times, ultimately talking herself back into sticking around. After all, there was nothing to lose.

Around midday, Levy heard the automatic doors slide open for the dozenth time and she looked back, hopeful. She tried hiding her grin at the split-second sight of Redfox, curling her head back around the corner she was behind. She shoved her book in her bag and collected herself with a dorky smile. Redfox turned the corner and stopped, catching the color of her orange dress and then her blue hair. He raised an eyebrow and made a question-filled grunting sound.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with power. Levy paid it no mind, unable to keep the grin away from her features.

"I, um," The girl stammered, not having thought the whole meeting through beforehand. Her hand was messing with the hair on the back of her head again. "I wanted to thank you again for returning my keys..." She eventually answered.

"I said don't mention it," He started to walk away. Levy flustered and babbled, trying to come up with something to say to keep him there.

"Well, I want to do something with you," She spouted, making up an explanation. "You know, to really thank you!" The dark fellow was looking at her from over his shoulder. "And, I never got your name," The confession seemed pouted, like Levy felt guilty for finally asking. Redfox turned and faced her completely and answered her after a moment of staring down her features.

"It's Gajeel." Levy smiled, the expression lighting up her face like the sun that fell on it. She pointed at his bag, partially trying to make conversation and partially trying to get to know him better.

"What's _Redfox?"_

"It's my name." The gruff Gajeel answered simply.

"Gajeel Redfox," Levy said to herself. "I'm Levy McGarden. So, hey, do you want to go get lunch together? As a thank you?"

"Hm," Gajeel grumbled, though not in a negative way. He blinked and looked up at the sky, then around and everywhere else except Levy, red eyes piercing whatever they saw. "Fine, but I'm pickin' the place." He turned around quickly, making his way toward the place he had in mind. Levy grinned behind him and followed, a spring in her step.

Gajeel lead Levy to a simple little establishment along a stretch of other buildings. A coffee shop stood around the middle, and that's the one they were headed for. The sign above the door read "Tenrou's" in white painted letters on a wooden header bearing a decorated border. From the outside appearance, it didn't look like anything at all. Stepping inside proved differently, though, as it was bristling with comfort. Little wooden tables and matching chairs dotted the middle of the room, while other tables were fixed onto the walls with booth-like seats on both the right and left sides of the shop. Shelves that sat against the walls beside the entrance had small plants on them, up against the windows to get the right amount of light. A waist-high wall separated the initial entrance area from the bulk of the shop. At the back, the staff and menu sat behind a counter waiting for their customers.

Levy looked around the quaint place, having never even thought of coming inside before that day. Gajeel didn't wait for her, and walked straight ahead to the counter. He looked back , watching Levy until she snapped back to the situation and joined him up there. They stood together a number of steps away from the counter, looking at the menu. She smiled the whole time, trying to keep herself from blushing when she saw just how close she got to stand to Gajeel. On instinct, she pointed her eyes down, then forced them up to read what the little shop had to offer. Meanwhile, a cashier with a friendly expression waited for the pair to decide with patience.

Gajeel, being a frequent customer, already knew what he wanted. He quietly read the rest of the menu while Levy did the same, politely giving her a good amount of time to make a decision. When she made up her mind, she put her hands together in front of her.

"Do you know what you want?" She asked kindly, as acquaintances do. Gajeel answered with a nod after a second, taking the necessary steps to the counter. He ordered first, the cashier making an easy comment about how he always got the same thing. Levy smiled to be polite, then made her order when motioned to, paying the cost quickly as to not allow Gajeel any chance of paying first. When it was done, he moved to the left and stood aloof in the area their lunch would be put out. Levy joined him, hands together behind her back.

"So," She started, trying to make conversation. "You've eaten here before?"

"Yeah," Gajeel answered, eyes moving in her direction before speaking.

"How'd you find this place?"

"I just came in one day, and I've been coming here almost every day ever since,"

"That good, huh?" Levy giggled, swaying a little. Gajeel didn't say anything, and a little time after that their food was ready. They each took their respective choices and Levy watched as Gajeel sat in a pre-determined booth in the corner. The way he sat down made it seem like that was the only place he ever chose to sit. Levy sat across from him.

For a disappointing while, they ate their food in silence. Levy tried making small talk a few times, but nothing was ever carried beyond a few exchanges, and Gajeel didn't try any subjects. As they both got close to the end of their meals, Levy made a final attempt to get to know him.

"How long have you been in Mongolia?" She asked, forking her food and twisting it around.

"A while. Don't know how long," He took a bite.

"You don't have a guess?" She prodded. Gajeel shrugged.

"Not really." Levy sighed and put her chin in one of her hands.

"How long have you been going to that gym across the street? I see you every day," The gap between the two sentences only lasted a second, though the mention of seeing him made Gajeel's eyes point up and look at her. He adjusted his posture a little before giving her a response.

"A few months. Less than a year," He said, putting an arm on the table. "Every day, huh?" Levy blushed violently, her whole face burning up. She flustered, looking down at her food and trying to think about everything else _except _Gajeel, the gym, and the library. The man across from her noticed her flushed face and behavior and smirked. "What about that library of yours?"

"Oh, I uh, I've been going there for quite some time. I only started going so often about half a year ago. Or something like that..." She was still a little embarrassed, and thought back to that morning. "How did you know the keys were mine?"

"Well," Gajeel started, first looking at Levy and then off to the side, leaning his pointy chin in a gloved hand. "I see you going in there all the time and happened to look over in time to see you drop something. I didn't know they were keys until I gave 'em back. What do you do, spendin' all that time in a library?" He deflected, pointing the subject away from the fact that he also saw Levy every day. The girl smiled.

"I read! What else would I do? What, do you do something other than work out in that gym all the time?" She giggled. Gajeel nodded and sat up.

"I guess you're right. I walked right into that one," Levy laughed again, and Gajeel grinned a little. He changed his expression before anyone had a chance to see a guy like him looking at anyone else like that and resumed his cold and dark demeanor. He looked around the shop for no reason, Levy watching him for a moment before checking her watch. With disappointment in her words, she sighed.

"Looks like I've got to get going. I work in an hour," She mentioned, making sure she had everything with her. She leaned forward some with a happy face. "I really enjoyed having lunch with you," She said with joy. "We should do it again soon!" She scooted out of the booth with her bag over one shoulder, standing and fixing her dress. Gajeel watched her do this and stood, picking his own large bag up off the floor next to him.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad." He slung the thing over his arm, holding the straps with ease. Levy noticed the definition in his arms, but looked away from them with a little redness in her face. Gajeel had his eyes on her and grinned, walking out of the shop with her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Levy said jokingly, giggling as she did. Gajeel gave a single huff as a laugh and started on his way, a grin still pinned to his features.

"See you then."


	4. CH 4

For the next few weeks, when the pair arrived at their destinations they found themselves always glancing across the street and waving to eat other. Levy, of course, starting doing this first. Gajeel always waved back, partially because he wanted to be nice to her and partially because he secretly liked to. After the simple exchange, they entered their respective facilities and that was that. The pattern carried over into the next morning and into every morning after. It went on for almost a month before either person approached the other.

One morning, for no reason in particular, Levy again made the first move. When she caught sight of Gajeel in the morning, she called for him to wait, jogged across the street, and greeted him. Her orange dress swished across her hips and thighs, a movement Gajeel definitely noticed. He looked away from her legs just before she reached him. As always, she wore a bright smile.

"Good morning!" She greeted as she stopped.

"Yeah, good morning," Gajeel responded nonchalantly. Levy had her hands together behind her, swaying as she spoke.

"I was thinking we should go out again soon," She confessed, however not as shy as she had been when she first asked.

"How come? Are you going somewhere?"

"Oh, no, I just wanted to go out again," If it was even possible, her face lit up more with the end of the sentence. Gajeel paused before answering, adjusting the grip he had on his bag ever so slightly.

"Is that so..." He mumbled. "Well, I don't see why not. You're picking this time." He meant for his agreement to be an aloof one, looking away to pretend his was half-interested. But Levy could tell he was alright with it, and so they arranged to meet up a few days from then to have lunch again.

At work that night, one of Levy's coworkers took a dinner break at the same time as she did. They went through a door in the back of the store specifically meant for breaking employees, and sat on the simple sofa with their food both on their laps and on the coffee table at their knees. The coworker grew a sly grin suddenly, and brought up the latest date she had had a number of nights before. Levy, not being one for gossip, listened anyway. A kind girl like her could never brush off a friend's subjects of interest.

"He was pretty nice, but a little stiff," She explained.

"Stiff?" Levy repeated. "What do you mean, is he athletic?"

"No, I didn't get that far," The coworker giggled, eyeing Levy from the side. "But who knows, maybe it would have done him some good to come in here and pick something up. I'm judging purely by the way his shoulders looked, but anyway..." Levy worked at a sports equipment store, and her coworker was often asked out by the customers. She had an eye for those who seemed more athletic than others, but usually accepted the requests anyway. Levy had been asked for her number a couple of times, though she wasn't ever interested in going out like that.

"...his sense of humor was dull. That's what I meant by stiff, like he wasn't relaxed or anything. I might go out with him again, but I'm not sure. We've shot some texts back and forth since then, but nothing serious." She sighed, leaning her head back in distress. "How's your love life been? Having any luck?"

"U-uh, well,"

"Oh! Did you finally go out!" She bounced back at full energy, asking questions with her excited eyes. Levy's face was turning red. "You _did! _Oh, tell me, who was it, was it a boy, a girl, were they cute?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a "date", really..." Levy blushed, avoiding eye contact. "We just went to lunch at this little place he picked out—"

"So it _was _a boy," The coworker cooed. "Was he cute?"

"Um, yeah, he's pretty cute...though, cute isn't the word to use for a guy like him," She stuttered, never thinking of Gajeel as cute before. "I can agree and say he's attractive..." Levy stopped short of anything else she might have said. She shot a look to the girl next to her, who had a beaming grin on her face. "No! Wait, I didn't mean to say that out loud!"

"Levy's got a boyfriend!" She mused. Levy waved her hands and shook her head, talking over her.

"No, he's not my—we just went to lunch! It was a whole month ago, you don't have to get so over-excited!"

"A _month _ago? Seriously! When are you seeing him next?"

"Well, I sort of see him every day. He goes to the gym across from the library I frequent and shows up at the same time I do. I dropped my keys one morning and he came to return them, I took him to lunch as a thank-you, that's all! But," She paused, shyly admitting her plans. "We've already scheduled a lunch date in a few days. And by date," Levy snapped in good humor. "I don't mean _that _kind of date! It's just lunch, that's all."

"Still," The coworker giggled, watching Levy get up from her seat. It was just about time to return to work. "Maybe you'll get somewhere with him. You never know!"

"Ha-ha, right. We'll just have to see about that. You just might get somewhere with that stiff boy of yours, too," Levy mocked playfully, flashing a smile to her friend and going back into the store. She only had a few more hours left of her shift until it was time to close up. After that, it was a trip home-bound and a cozy night in pajamas.


	5. CH 5

It was the morning of the day of Levy and Gajeel's second outing. Levy had woken up with a happy grin and a kick in her step, feeling like she was floating on her feet as she made her way out her apartment door and down to the library. As usual, she waved to Gajeel when she saw him and he waved back, this time with the tiniest hint of a smile. Even from the distance she saw it, the notice of which only brightening her day more.

Just as she was about to enter the library, Levy's phone rang. She stopped and took a few steps back from the door as to not disturb anyone inside. She rummaged through her bag, mumbling. Across the street, Gajeel also stopped, catching the fumbling out of the corner of his eye. He watched quietly, Levy answering the call.

"Hello?" She greeted.

"Levy!" It was her coworker, and she sounded both rushed and relieved on the other side.

"Oh, hey. What's up? You never call this early."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I hope I didn't mess anything up, well, yet,"

"Yet?" Levy repeated, gripping her bag's straps.

"Uh, yeah, _yet. _See, something came up at home and I can't make it into work, but it's too late for me to call in...could you cover for me?"

"Today?" Levy cautioned. _"Now?"_

"Oh, Levy I'm sorry! Can you do it?"

"Well, I..." She sighed deeply, her head falling back and a frown dawning her features. The hand holding her bag straps tightly loosened, eventually dropping. "Yeah, sure. You go ahead, I'll explain to the manager."

"Levy, thank you! You're a _life _saver! I owe you one, but I have to go, thanks again—" She hung up the phone on the other line, leaving Levy standing disappointed in the open walkway to the library. She looked at her phone for the time. If she was going to make it in time for the morning shift, she had about an hour to get home, get ready, and clock in.

"I guess lunch is going to have to wait..."

"You alright?" Gajeel had crossed the street at seeing Levy's dismal expression, and was just coming within easy volume of her. Levy sighed yet again, looking to the side.

"I have to go fill in for someone at work," She started to confess. "And the shift doesn't end until two..."

"No lunch today then, huh?" He confirmed. Levy looked up at him, met his gaze, and nodded with honest, upset features.

"Not today, I guess. I was so looking forward to it, too," The second sentence she mumbled to herself, already pointing her head another direction to lessen the chance of Gajeel hearing it. But, he caught it anyway.

"How about dinner?"

"Huh?"

"If you can't make lunch, let's do dinner."

"Are you sure?" Levy's hopes darted through the roof while she tried to keep them under wraps.

"Yeah. Unless you've already got plans?"

"Oh, no no no! I don't have anything to do tonight. So, um, yeah! Dinner sounds great! Should we meet up somewhere, or?"

"How about," Gajeel started, swinging his bag forward and unzipping the front pocket. He reached in, pushed some stuff around, and took his phone out. He unlocked the screen and got to the appropriate place. "You give me your number and I'll call you real quick. Call me when you're done with work." Levy blushed, digging out her phone in preparation for a call. Meanwhile, she recited her number. Gajeel typed it in accordingly, saved it, and hit the call button. Levy's phone went off and she answered it playfully.

"Hello?" She grinned, giggling and putting it to her ear. Gajeel grinned a little and hung up without saying anything back. Levy passed it off and saved his number.

"Okay, so I'll give you a call. I don't usually get home until around two-thirty or three, so expect me around then!" She walked past him, turning so that her back was never to him while she spoke, waved, and then fully turned in the direction of home.

" "_Hello?" _Levy, that was dumb, so dumb..." It was the middle of the day now, nearing her lunch break. Levy was reorganizing some of the equipment in the kid's area of the store, all the while beating herself up for her actions in front of Gajeel. It hadn't left her mind and she certainly hadn't brushed it off like she played at. It nagged at the back of her skull and put her in a miserably sour mood. Even with the promise of dinner that night, she felt stupid. When the time came, she marched into the break room, grabbed her lunch out of her locker, and sat on the sofa by herself. With a sigh, she whipped out her phone to see how her coworker was doing. She had a text already waiting for her.

_-Sorry for making you take my shift today. Thanks a hundred billion jillion quintillion etc!-_

Levy grimaced a little, but put her feelings aside.

_-No problem. Today was my lunch date, you know! You OWE me! How's everything going?"-_

She hit send and got a response a minute later.

_-That was TODAY! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME! Lol. We're fine, but you're talking to a new aunt! My sister had a baby! Eeeeeeeeeee!-_

_-Congratulations! Boy or girl? Don't worry about it, he said we should do dinner instead. We're going tonight after work.-_

_-NO WAY! Did he suggest it? It's a girl. Her face is still all squished looking but she's a cutie.-_

_-Yes? Does it make a difference? Tell everyone congrats for me.-_

_-I will. And YES! I think he's into you. You have to tell me everything after you get home! Anyway, I'm gonna get going soon. Text me tonight! Xxoo-_

_-Okay, drive safe!-_

Levy put away her phone, a lingering smile on her face from the leftover good news. She had finished her food but still had a few more minutes to kill before her break was up. With nothing else to do and not enough time to read anything, she looked back at her phone. She thought about shooting Gajeel a text, just to see how he was doing. Her finger hovered over the message button, but pulled away.

"It's too soon to send him messages..." She said to herself in dissatisfied tones. "Oh well."

She returned to work shortly after. Waiting for her shift to end so she could call and hear what Gajeel sounded like on the phone was hell. It was a little thing, hearing his voice like that, but for some reason Levy thought of it as special. To her, Gajeel didn't seem like the kind of guy to just hand his phone number out to ladies after a simple lunch together. She felt special.

Finally, when the work was over and Levy was home, she worked up the nerve and called, keeping her giddy emotions as repressed and away from her voice as humanly possible. However, there was a dorky smile on her face the whole time.

"Okay, nothing to lose, it's just dinner. Alright." She pressed Call. With each ring, her heart beat harder. The pause between them took ages to pass, and she felt her hands clam up at the scattered thoughts about their meeting. _What should I say when he answers? What if he doesn't answer? Should I leave a message? What should the message say? What if it's the wrong number? Do I say "Hello" or "Hi?" "Hey" is too informal, we don't know each other well enough—_

"Hello," Gajeel's voice, distant and familiar while at the same time strange, came through Levy's end. She hesitated, his greeting less of a question and more of a standard casually-answering-the-telephone statement.

"Hey, Gajeel, it's Levy," She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't respond negatively.

"Hey. You off?"

"Yep! Are you still at the gym?"

"I'm actually about to leave."

"Cool. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Not unless you're covering for another coworker." He grinned on his side of the line, holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder while zipping up his bag. He swung the load over his shoulder as usual, taking the phone back up in his hand.

"Very funny," Levy giggled. "But no, I'm still free. What are you in the mood for?"

"I told you, you're picking."

"Well, what do you like?"

"I can go for anything, doesn't matter," Levy huffed in response to his answer, her brow wrinkling a bit.

"It doesn't matter to me, either. What do you like?"

"I have an iron stomach, I can eat anything. _You _pick."

"I can't decide if I don't know what you like to eat!"

"I told you, I'll eat anything! So just _pick _already!"

"Well since we can't decide why don't you just come over and we'll order pizza or something!" Both sides of the conversation went quiet. Levy almost yelled her last response, and held her breath until either one of two things happened; one, he hung up the phone, or two, he answered. The line was quiet for a long time.

"Fine by me," Gajeel said, rather calmly. He had raised his voice a couple notches, too.

"Um, okay. What time is good for you?"

"Not this again, pick a time, Levy."

"Gosh, fine! How's six? Gives us a couple of hours,"

"Text me your address and I'll be there. See you."

"Okay, see you soon. Bye," With a bit of a clatter on the other end, the line went dead and Levy quickly—but not _too_ quickly—sent him her address. She held the phone in her lap for a few minutes, thankful that their little bout hadn't ruined anything. She looked around her room, wondering where she and Gajeel would end up spending most of the evening. Her toes curled up on the carpet, she patted the bed she sat on, and she looked up at the ceiling.

"I'd better start picking things up," Levy mumbled, getting to her feet. She sighed and played with a lock of her hair at the sight of all the books she had scattered around the floor. "First thing's first is to find a place for all these books..."


	6. CH 6

Levy put her books anywhere they could possibly fit, given there was less room on her shelves than a closet filled with bricks. They went under the bed, on top of chairs, stacked under the single window in her room, and just about everywhere else. Of course, she left the few she was currently reading out on her bedside table for easy access, but those were the only ones casually left out.

After she was done with that task, she set to cleaning up the rest of the place. She tidied the kitchen, putting dishes away and giving the counters and the floor a quick sweep. In the living area, which neighbored the kitchen, she refolded the throw that hung over the back of the couch, and fluffed the pillows so that they fit perfectly in the corners. Remotes for the TV and DVD player were set on the table next to each other, and the carpet was vacuumed. To finish it all up with enough time to shower and get dressed, Levy lit the few candles she had already on the counter and coffee table.

"Done!" She proclaimed, satisfied. She looked around after tossing out the used matches, took a deep breath, and let it go. "Now to shower and wait for six o' clock to roll around."

She hopped in and out of the shower, careful not to take too much time so her hair could dry by the time Gajeel arrived. With a little help from the hair dryer, that wouldn't have been a problem anyway, but Levy was growing ever anxious. Stumped about how to dress for their evening, she was torn between a form-fitting, yet still comfortable tank top with a matching skirt, and pajamas. She reached for the casual clothes first, then withdrew her hand.

"I'm thinking too hard about this," She sighed, plopping down on her bed, still in a towel. "We're not even doing anything. We're having pizza together. _Pizza, Levy! It isn't a fancy dinner date." _Looking to her left, she eyed her phone. Before she even grabbed it, she thought of how ridiculous she was going to sound asking what she was about to ask.

_-So, hey. I was thinking, since we're not going anywhere special, want to just come over in PJ's and do pizza and a movie?-_

She hit send, against her better judgment. In the minute it took to get Gajeel's reply Levy was writhing in her skin. _What if he says no? I'll look like a total idiot. What if he says yes? What should I wear? Nothing too out there, just something casual._ Her heart beat with anticipation. The phone buzzed. She snatched it up and opened the message, letting go of a breath she didn't know she had held.

_-I don't care.-_

It was more of an exasperated sigh than a relieved one. Her fingers played over the keys while she thought of a proper response.

_-You've got to have some kind of opinion. PJ's or casual?-_

Levy, personally, leaned more towards pajamas. She just plain wasn't in the mood to get dressed again.

_-It's your house. I'll go with the flow.-_

_-Get in your PJ's then! Haha. See you soon.-_

Hitting send again, the poor girl felt both fulfilled and worried.

"Oh, I hope he doesn't think I'm a ditz or anything...whatever, let's get going..." Levy mumbled, sitting up. She put her clothes away and picked out a clean and comfortable pair of pajamas. After, she wet her hair a bit more and combed it before taking the hair dryer to it, then let it fall without any additional styling. She sat with her back comfortably against the couch and waited for the sound of a knock, watching the candle flame dance. She leaned forward and blew it out, coming to the conclusion that lit candles would be too romantic. She blew out the one on the counter, as well. Ten minutes later, the knock sounded.

Levy's heart skipped a beat and she felt her features flush. Suddenly, she thought it was a terrible idea to be in pajamas, let alone the pajamas she chose to wear. Though it was a simple pair of orange flannel sweats and a white tank top, the feelings stuck.

"Okay," She breathed quietly, calming herself down. "No big deal." She reached for the knob, bumped it with her knuckle on accident, then wrapped her hand around it and pulled the door open. There Gajeel stood, tall and dark, with a simple, comfortable outfit to match. He didn't return her smile, of course, but nodded to her.

"Hi!" Levy said brightly, stepping to the side. "Come on in!"

"Not a bad place you got here," Gajeel mentioned, quickly and nonchalantly scanning over his surroundings.

"Yeah, it's not a bad neighborhood, either," Levy agreed, closing the door and nervously straightening the front of her shirt. "I'm happy with it. So," She paused, her latest guest turning around to see her. She was only standing there beside the door, leaning against the wall slightly on one shoulder, but she looked fantastic. Gajeel looked her up and down just once, and without drawing any real attention to it.

"So," He repeated, eyes piercing hers.

"What kind of pizza do you like?" She asked, moving over behind the counter and leaning forward on her arms. "I'm pretty plain—usually just cheese or pepperoni."

"Anything with meat on it is fine with me."

"We can do half-and-half? One side cheese and the other side meat lovers?" Gajeel glanced her way and nodded. She smiled, walking past him into the living area and taking her phone off the table. She had to walk right next to Gajeel to get there, and purposefully cuter than usual said he could sit anywhere just as she passed him. Doing so, she realized that the top of her head only measured up to about the height of his collarbones. She returned to the kitchen and made the call in there, moving the speaker away from her face for a moment to ask what kind of drinks they should get. In the end, they ordered a large half cheese, half pepperoni and beef pizza and a liter of soda. They agreed to split the cost, but only after a second friendly bout of back and forth insisting.

"While we wait for the pizza to get here," Levy started, putting her phone down and moving to the living room again. Gajeel sat comfortably on the right side, next to the arm. "What movie are we in the mood for?"

"What do you have?"

"I have some action, comedy, I guess general movies. I don't have a lot of horror or thrillers. Or chick flicks. Let's see...I have a couple of mysteries, too."

"A decent action movie is a good time," He answered, getting up and moving over next to Levy, to look at the selection. They chose one called _Phoenix Priest, _which followed a young woman trying to uncover her lost memories and a group of rowdy young adults who constantly broke both many rules and many buildings.

"You've probably seen this one already, right?" Gajeel questioned, giving Levy a sideways glance before he sat down again.

"Actually, I haven't," She replied, putting the disc in the tray. "My friend lent it to me a while ago, but I never had the chance to sit down and watch it,"

"Hm." He sat back in the couch, stretching his arms back and over the top of the couch. He folded one leg loosely over the other. Levy turned, taking the remote and almost prancing to the couch. She took her seat next to Gajeel, though made a personal point not to sit _too _close.

The pair watched the menu trailer repeat for a while, little conversation going on meanwhile. Eventually, the doorbell rang and Levy hopped up to answer it. Gajeel got up after watching her shimmy past his legs. Levy opened the door and Gajeel grabbed the pizza and soda while she handed the delivery person the money. She tipped him in secret, not letting Gajeel see, and closed the door while he put the pizza on the counter. She brought out plates and cups for each of them. By the time they shut the lights off, sat down with their food and hit play, it was just about 7 o' clock.

The movie started off with a serene musical track that turned dark, followed by a siege on a festival of some kind. People were stabbed with spears and bodies piled. It was a good start and got Levy interested from the start. She brought her legs up on the couch, comfortable with her pizza plate in her lap. Gajeel sat with one leg up on the other, like he was before. She got up for another slice, and so did he. They put the plates on the table to worry about later and paid attention to the movie.

Around halfway through, more violence ensued, and Levy started getting a little foggy. It had been a long time since she sat down to watch anything, and the new kind of relaxation was making her tired. She brought her legs up and folded to her chin, wrapping her arms around them to make it easier to stay in the position. She glanced over to see how Gajeel was faring. He was fine, not having moved much since he finished eating. She had to look up a little, sitting next to him, and she thought of how small she must have looked curled up in a ball like that next to him. Her features blushed a little, and she couldn't hold back a smile. Gajeel saw this out of one of his many glances in her direction.

"What are you all smiley about?" He half-grumbled, looking away as he asked. Levy moved her gaze to the side of his, still smiling. Believing she had nothing to lose, she went ahead and answered honestly.

"I was just thinking about how tiny I must look compared to you," She giggled a little. "Especially since I'm huddled up like this," Gajeel turned his head and looked at her balled-up body quickly. With her arms wrapped around her legs like they were, he could see the frills of the bra she was wearing peeking out the sleeveless arm of her tank top. He looked away from it, and saw she still had a dorky grin on.

"Yeah, I see what you mean." He turned his attention back to the movie, his once-crossed arms now extending to lay on the top of the couch. He made the move to be comfortable, but realized how close the two sat. If he wanted to, he could easily put his arm around her, instead.

He shoved the image away, but Levy had thought the same thing. She was blushing harder, now, and tried to lower her face between her knees to cover it up. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and he did a few times, too.

Throughout the last third of the movie or so, part of Levy wanted to make some sort of move on him. She adjusted her sitting position a few times and "accidentally" scooted closer to him, she sat cross-legged and almost let her knee touch his, and she quite nervously leaned her head to the side a little, all for the effort of sending a couple of hints. But at the same time, and even though she did all these things, she didn't want anything to escalate beyond maybe some returned flirtatious hints.

Gajeel took great notice of every single move she made. He knew she moved closer, that it wasn't on accident or unnoticed as she moved. He was going to nudge her knee, since it was only about an inch from his, but didn't for a reason he wasn't quite sure of. He thought of going through putting his arm over her shoulders and letting her lean on him when she tilted her head his way. His arm twitched, almost moving on its own. He caught it in time for nothing to seem suspicious or nervous, but noticed the slightly sharper inhale he had made just before he moved. He exhaled hard, as if the breath was meant to be a natural start of a sigh. Levy heard it, and asked if he was alright. He gave her a quick glance and a nod, following it up by changing his own position some.

The weight of Gajeel's body readjusting on the couch, and the closeness of Levy to him made her lose her upright balance. She leaned to the right, tried to correct it by tilting the other way, then lost her balance entirely. She tried to brace herself, moving her straight arm to the cushion to try and stay upright, but hit his thigh on the way there. She whipped her hand away, embarrassed, and forgot her loss of balance. Her eyes were wide and she found herself with her head against Gajeel's chest.

Her face burned so hot and her heart beat so hard the girl felt like she was about to burst. Eyes wide and stunned by a mix of embarrassment, nervousness, and the emotional equivalent of I-don't-know-what-to-do, she didn't know how long she stayed like that. Gajeel was in a similar boat, his arm even closer to being around her small shoulders. He looked down on the top of her head, unmoving. He lifted his arm from the back of the couch and only moved it about an inch, then Levy shot back up, absolutely red-faced. She looked at him, eyes wide with surprise and embarrassment. One hand shot up into the air and waved as she apologized, while the other was already fidgeting with her hair. Gajeel watched her without a word, replacing his arm at the back of the couch.

"I'm sorry!" She spouted, stumbling. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, um, that was an accident, I—it's not your fault, I, uh, you—"

"It's fine," Gajeel said simply, still watching to see what she was going to do.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She said again, facing forward and still messing with her hair. She curled up in a ball again to make sure she wasn't going to fall over, unable to pay attention to the movie's climax. Gajeel still had his eyes on her for some time.

The movie ended a couple of minutes after that fiasco, ending with two of the hooligans comforting each other after a tragedy. It reminded Levy of her head leaning on his chest, though she never stopped thinking about it. Her heart was still beating over it.

The credits rolled, the menu screen came back, and it was officially over. As soon as the menu track started up, Levy hopped to her feet, walked around the back of the couch and flicked on the light. She fixed her pajamas and her hair in case they looked sluggish, and mentally willed her eyes to get used to the light again. Gajeel stood up shortly after the lights came on, his own eyes automatically fixing on her. She was visibly tense during their awkward silence.

Gajeel turned and picked up the pair of plates from the table and brought them to the kitchen. He put them on the counter, and Levy grabbed their empty soda glasses. She didn't bother to rinse them.

"So," She started, trying to act like she still wasn't 100% embarrassed. "What did you think of it?"

"Not bad," Gajeel answered.

"I thought so too," Levy agreed. "It seemed pretty fast-paced, but it was still good." She looked at the clock, which read close to 9 o' clock. It still seemed pretty early, but she didn't know what to say. "What should we do now?" She said, desperately grasping at something other than silence.

"Don't know," Gajeel said casually. "Do you want me to stick around?"

"Um," She stuttered an unknown answer, both wanting him to stay and wanting to be alone to wallow in her fault. She was taking too long to answer. "It's up to you," Levy finally said. "You can stay if you want,"

"Hm," Gajeel grumbled his usual neutral response. "You feeling alright?" Of course he knew what her issue was, but he couldn't let her know that. Levy fumbled again.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm totally okay!" She giggled it off. "Absolutely fine!" _This 'absolutely' sucks! _She thought, mocking herself.

"I'm gonna get going, then," He decided.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I've got to get back. Have to get my cat inside."

"You have a cat?" Levy repeated, small talk easing her tension a little.

"Yeah. He's outside most of the day, gotta let him in at night,"

"Don't want anything to happen to the poor guy," Levy agreed, smiling. The annoying thought of embarrassment came back. She pushed it down. "I had a good time!" She added, moving to the door.

"Yeah," He agreed, opening the door and turning his head over his shoulder. "It was a good time. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, shrimp." He took his first step out the door.

"Shrimp? Gee, thanks," She giggled. "See you tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Night." He issued a single wave and went on his way. Levy closed the door after he was a polite distance down the hall, and dragged a hand down her face in utter dismay. She shut the TV off as she walked back toward her room and looked out the window that faced the street. She saw Gajeel cross the street and head off toward home, and kept thinking as he walked, _I should have put my arm around her._


	7. CH 7

Levy felt like she rammed into a boulder along the path of her relationship with Gajeel. It was obvious from the way he waved in the mornings that something crossed his mind each time he saw her, and the poor girl grew ever more discouraged. She genuinely liked him, regardless of how cold most of his actions and remarks came out to be. His personality mirrored hers in a way she couldn't quite understand. She didn't want to let go of him just yet, but she blamed no one but herself for their newly acquired distance. She brought up her concerns to her friend one night over the phone.

"Have you tried actually _talking _to him about it, yet?" She asked. Levy sighed, flopping back on her bed.

"No," She whined. "But it isn't like we're _dating_ or anything, I just feel like it's _my _fault he's acting so strange,"

"Levy, I doubt that accidentally falling on his arm is the reason he's distant. If I were you, I'd give it a shot and say something. Have you two talked at _all _since your dinner date?"

"Well..." She paused, sheepish. Her friend sighed on the other line.

"Come _on, _Levy! You have to try before you give up hope! Think of it this way; if your relationship is already doomed to end, what is there to lose? Shoot him a text or call him or something!"

"Yeah, I probably should. Okay, once I'm off the phone with you, I'll text him."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Perfect!" The girl exclaimed. "I have to work early tomorrow, so that text isn't as far away as you hoped!" She laughed, playful, and Levy giggled. Their conversation soon ended, leaving Levy with an empty message to Gajeel. Her nerves went nuts trying to think of something to type, that blinking cursor staring at her. She let out an irritated sigh.

"It's not like I can act like nothing's been wrong!" She thought aloud. "We've _both _been acting pretty weird...oh, dangit! Whatever, I'll just be simple about it. Can't go wrong with simple, right?"

_-Hello!- _She hit send and waited for both the best and the worst. She clung to her phone like life itself during the minute it took Gajeel to respond. On his end, he was half-surprised to see any message from Levy, since they never really communicated that way anyway. He read her message, partly remembering his regrets from their last get together, and send over his own response.

_-Hey.-_

Levy opened the message and frowned.

"Well, I can't say I was expecting much else..." She typed a reply.

_-How've you been? It's been a while since we last talked.-_

_-Fine, nothing special.- _He hit send, then backtracked and started sending a follow up message. Meanwhile, Levy had already opened his first text and huffed, complaining that he never carries a conversation. Just then, she got his second message.

_-How've you been?-_

"Of course, as soon as I say something," Levy giggled.

_-I've been alright. How was your day?-_

_-Same as usual. Yours?-_

_-Good! Tomorrow's my day off, so it's good news.-_

_-So's mine. Got any plans?- _Levy felt her cheeks get hotter, and Gajeel's heart beat slightly faster than normal, though both reactions were unintended.

_-Not at all. How about you?-_

_-Nope, nothing. Would you mind if I called?- _

"Called?" Levy whispered in repetition, her face again going red. She grunted to herself, the constant blushing starting to get on her nerves. "Oh, Levy, come on! He's just asking for a phone call, it isn't like he's asking for anything else!" Her mind wandered without her consent, causing more reddening. She blocked any further thought and realized it had been longer than usual for her to reply, and quickly typed something.

_-Sure? What for?- _She didn't get a text back but was faced with a phone call instead. She answered as casually as possible, trying not to make it out like he had just inadvertently sent _several _intimate scenarios through her head. That wasn't his intention, either, but he had worked himself up in the meantime. He was also trying to keep his tone cool.

"H-Hey," Levy said more hesitantly than desired.

"Hey." Gajeel answered, his voice sounding as successfully disgruntled as usual.

"So, why'd you call?" Levy asked, twirling her hair and bringing her shoulders in, eyes darting up to the corners of the room in search of something to stare at.

"Listen," He started. "I'm not that good at this sort of thing, so let's just cut out the middle man and agree to meet sometime tomorrow." There was a pause that felt like it lasted minutes longer than the few seconds it actually was. Both of them held their breath, albeit unknowing.

"O-okay," Levy stuttered her agreement. "Where?"

"I dunno, I already said I wasn't good at this."

"Well, um. How about that park a few blocks away from where I live? I can't remember the name, but it's the one with the big tree right in the middle?"

"That's fine with me. When are you free?"

"Let's shoot for meeting up at noon? Unless you want to get together sooner—" Levy stopped before she could properly punctuate herself, not having meant to use those particular words. Her face reddened, but Gajeel didn't seem to care about her choice of words. On the other line, he was nodding in agreement, unusually tense for something that was always so easy.

"Nah, noon is fine."

"Okay! I guess we'll just meet next to the tree, then? It'll be hard to miss each other," She forced a small giggle, her nerves making her more talkative. "I'll see you tomorrow," She smiled, as if she was actually in front of him.

"See ya." Gajeel closed, hanging up the phone. He took a deep breath and let it all go, looking down at the phone's end call screen. Levy's contact only had her name and number, and coupled with that anonymous, default contact photo of a silhouette. He scoffed at the faceless picture, wondering how he would go about getting a picture of her without making things as awkward as their last meeting.

Levy also breathed an air of relief when the call was over, locking her phone screen. She looked around, the world strangely quiet after having two phone calls so close together. The sky was already pretty deep into the usual dark of the night, and looking at the clock, revealed it to be close to 11pm. It would be Sunday in about an hour. The library would be closed all day, giving her the first half of the day without Gajeel to loaf around and most likely make up worries about their date.

"Is it a date, though?" She found herself whisper. She shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head. "If it is, I guess I'll find out tomorrow." It was perhaps the most calm she had ever been when thinking about dates with Gajeel.


	8. CH 8

The day was bright and sunny, the sun shining directly in Levy's eyes as it did every morning, waking her up. She turned over, away from the brightness, and rubbed her eyes awake. Sitting up, the first thing she thought about was her plans with Gajeel. She smiled a little, and looked over at the clock. It was 9:15am; she had slept in a bit.

"I guess I don't have a whole lot of time before I have to get ready," She yawned, swinging her legs off the bed. She stood up, stretched, her baggy pajama shirt no longer twirled around her torso like she was a wrapped burrito. Grabbing her phone, Levy headed for the kitchen.

As she ate her simple breakfast of toast and juice, she fingered the lock screen lock, seeing just how far the lock had to go before it would actually unlock the phone, and how fast it would snap back if it didn't reach the unlocking point. After that had bored her, she flipped through her messages from the night before. The only two conversations were from Gajeel and her coworker. She clicked them both for no reason, skimming through the exchanges. She finished her breakfast just as she was about to delete those conversations, and hopped in the shower.

Dressed in a pair of towels (one around her body and the other wrapped around her hair), Levy went into her room without the slightest idea of what she was going to wear. She sighed, not in the mood to wear anything in her closet at all.

"I need new clothes," She groaned, eventually picking a pair of comfortable white shorts and an orange tank top. She threw the clothes on her bed and looked outside. It was still sunny, and judging by the people walking down the street, she was definitely dressing for the weather. Choosing a matching white headband to tie her bangs back with, Levy was ready to go with easily forty minutes to spare. With the park only some twenty minutes away on foot, the girl had more than enough time to do something recreational.

Meanwhile, Gajeel had chosen to go to his gym earlier than usual. The change was definitely not recommended, but he wanted to have enough time to get home and shower before meeting with Levy. He couldn't go out a sweaty mess, even if it didn't bother _him_, it wasn't guaranteed to not bother _her. _

His decision paid off in the end, though. He got home, showered, and changed with enough time to let his mass of thick black hair dry a fair amount. Packing his wallet and house keys into the pockets of his black jeans, Gajeel gave his beloved cat a pat on the head, followed by an almost unwarranted amount of hugs, and left his apartment after wishing him goodbye.

Gajeel arrived at the park first, so far as he could see. He took a seat on a nearby bench and waited, his arms splayed out on either side of the back of the bench. Looking around, people watching, a couple of young kids stared at him as they passed. This was a normal occurrence, so he paid no real attention to it. He would give the kids a short grin if their eyes met, though the children always just sort of stared more. Usually, their parents would pull them away and tell them it was rude to stare, then would give Gajeel quite the dirty look.

The clock read 12:36pm the third time Gajeel checked it. He scoffed, looking over one of his shoulders for the umpteenth time in search of that darned bluenette. She wasn't anywhere to be seen, and he'd gotten no messages from her.

"If she's not here in the next four minutes," He breathed to himself, sounding more aggravated than he actually was. "I'll go to her house."

Sure enough, four minutes passed without any sign of Levy. Gajeel sprang to his feet and turned to leave the park, eyes scanning the small amount of people in case she was among them. He had no luck in his scans, and got to the floor level of her apartment complex with growing worries. He climbed the stairs, stepping over two at a time. Her door was closed, and it didn't sound like anyone was home. Even so, he knocked a number of times, then waited.

The first few seconds of silence were enough to make any worried person more paranoid, but much to Gajeel's relief, he heard footsteps coming to the door. The knob turned, and on the other side of the freshly opened door stood a perfectly unharmed, rather good looking, Levy McGarden. Her face sank from her normal, cheerful smile to a panicked one of regret and shock. She looked at the clock mounted on the wall.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She frantically spoke over and over again. Gajeel waited until she took a breath to say anything.

"Look, it's fine, don't break a sweat—"

"You must think I forgot! Gajeel, I'm sorry, I..." She glanced to one side, her bedroom door was open. She had been reading one of her new books and lost track of the time. It was laying face-down and open on the bed, a manner in which Levy never normally left her books. "I just...lost track of time..."

"I said not to worry about it. You still wanna go to the park?"

"Let me just—grab my bag—Gajeel, I'm _so, SO _sorry!"

"Let's just walk," He said, honestly not caring that she lost track of the time. At least she was okay. "And quit apologizing, I said it was fine!"


	9. CH 9

The pair ended up only walking halfway to the park before deciding to go somewhere to eat. As with their last get together, neither of them could make a decision as to what to eat or _where, _so they went with something easy; a local sandwich shop neither of them had been to before.

The inside of the place was nothing spectacular, as with most local spots, but it was comfortable. Upon walking in the door, a window with the restaurant staff cooking behind it, with the menu posted on it, stood blocking any further advancement. To the left was a much more open area with tables and booths to eat at. One of the employees at the place popped themselves in front of the window and greeted the pair with a smile. Levy returned the expression while Gajeel mentally acknowledged it and stared down the menu. The employee was kind enough to not rush them in their decision. Eventually, they ordered their sandwiches and picked a place to sit.

"We'll call your order number and you can pick it up around the corner," The employee told Gajeel, Levy already going ahead to pick a seat. The man nodded and gave an affirmative grunt, following Levy. She had chosen a booth against the far wall, not too far from the counter where their food would come be pushed through. Gajeel sat down across from her, and so followed the awkward silence of not knowing what to say. Levy, still feeling incredibly guilty from the whole park thing, offered another apology.

"I really am sorry about missing the time," She confessed. Gajeel looked up at her, piercing red eyes matching her down-pointed hazel ones, and waved one arm in dismissal.

"It's no big deal."

"I just feel guilty about it, is all. And you came all the way to my apartment to get me, and..." She sighed, truly feeling bad.

"I only went to check on you," Gajeel said in response. Levy lifted her chin a little. He was looking away. "To make sure you hadn't been hurt or somethin'." Levy blushed, twirling her hair again, an action noticed by her opposite. He watched her fingers curl around the lock of blue hair as it flipped and loosened then curled over again, her wrist moving her hand around nervously. He took a breath, about to say something about it when they heard their order number called. Gajeel stood up first.

"I'll get it," He said, catching Levy's movement to also stand.

"You sure?" She said, her hand dropping away from her hair. Gajeel had already made it over to the counter. The employee passed the food to him with a nod and a smile. He took both lunches and drinks in one trip, laying them on the table without letting so much as a sesame seed fall out of place.

"Thanks," Levy said, taking the appropriately marked sandwich off the tray and unfolding the paper. As they ate, there was very little conversation. It reminded Levy very much of their first lunch together, which seemed like such a long time ago. She thought about how much she knew about Gajeel, then realized how little she actually _did_ know about him. This got her mind going while she took bites and nibbles, and she said something she didn't necessarily mean to ask aloud.

"Is this a date?" Gajeel stopped mid-bite. His eyes, which had been closed, were now open and looking anywhere but Levy. Meanwhile, the girl's own face had flushed a bright red and she also looked everywhere but him. Finishing the bite of food in his mouth, Gajeel made a sound like he was clearing his throat, but didn't answer. Honestly, he didn't know how to answer that.

"W-well," He accidentally stuttered, clearing his throat a second time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that! I mean," Levy scrambled for the proper thing to say, a tomato dropping from her lunch as she searched for the right words. Unfortunately, none came. The two sat awkwardly for what felt like a very long pause.

"I _did," _Gajeel started, breaking the tension in the air. "Ask you out," He coughed. "After all. So," He paused again, gaze pointed elsewhere. "I guess you could consider it a date." Levy's face became just about as red as the tomato that fell. Even Gajeel felt his cheeks become a little pink, even though he was trying his best to think of other things that _weren't _dates with an attractive bluenette. To be more specific, he was trying to drive _everything_ he could do with her out of his head.

Just then, another set of customers came in the shop, the ringing bell signaling their arrival snapping the two of them back to their respective lunches. They finished wordlessly, and sat with empty glasses and sandwich papers until Gajeel said something.

"You're looking pretty tense for a girl on a date," He commented casually. Levy looked up.

"What do you mean?"

_What do you mean? What a brilliant question, Levy._

"Are you usually so stiff on dates?"

"Usually? I don't go on a whole lot of dates..."

"What? You serious?" Gajeel said with a bit of surprise.

"Y-yeah," Levy nodded, doing the hair thing again. "Actually, our dates have been the only dates I've been on since early high school..."

"You can't be serious," He continued to disbelieve, looking right at her. "A pretty girl like you must get asked out all the time, though."

"Well," Levy started, a little uncomfortable in reminder. "The only people who ever ask me out these days are random guys who come in to my workplace. They aren't the kind of guys I'd ever go for, so I don't go on dates these days."

"Bunch of boneheads, probably," He half-scoffed, resting a toned arm across the table. Looking at them gave Levy a certain feeling, and she made herself look away. She was always seeing a number of toned and physically fit guys in and out of her work, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't a fan of that kind of body. However, none of them appealed to her in any way. Gajeel, on the other hand...

"Levy?" Gajeel said her name as if he was asking something, but she hadn't been listening.

"Huh? I was lost in thought..."

"I asked what you had planned for tonight."

"I'm not doing anything," She said immediately, perhaps even a little to quickly. "Just sitting in pajamas and reading some more!" She giggled, remembering that she hadn't put that book from earlier away properly. She feared for the well-being of the binding. "How come?"

"If you're up to it, you can stop by my place later. We can do another one of those movie—" He stopped himself, coughing a little.

"Watch a movie?" Levy finished, much to Gajeel's thanks. He nodded, taking a swig of melted ice as well as an ice cube from his empty drink glass. It crunched loudly, the coldness refreshing. "Sure. When?"

"I've got to run by the store on my way home," He explained. "M'all out of cat food."

"You have a cat?" Levy smiled. She wasn't allowed to have pets in her apartment, but she was a big fan of cats.

"Yeah. He's great. You like cats?" She nodded vigorously. "You'll like him."

"Do you have any other errands before you go home?"

"No, just the cat food."

"Then why don't we just skip dropping me off at home and go by the store on the way to your place? It'll save time. Unless you have something else to do, I'll go home for a couple of hours,"

"That'll be fine. C'mon," Gajeel stood up, leaving the tray and glasses behind. The employee that served them in the beginning wished them a good day, and out the pair went, headed indirectly for Gajeel's cat, apartment, and second half of their date.


	10. CH 10

Coming up on Gajeel's apartment complex, Levy found it to not be too far from her own. For those who didn't walk as their main form of transportation, it may have seemed like a trek worthy of a short bus lift, however, the trip made no dent on their stamina.

He lead her to the second floor, where his apartment sat undisturbed (save for his cat inside) at the end of the hallway. He pulled out a ring of simple keys, the metal jangling together as he unlocked the door. Levy stood behind him, her stomach turning into a certain knot when she noticed just _how _his forearm moved when he turned the keys.

The door swung open, and as if he had been waiting for it all day, a black cat was sitting a few feet away from the doorway. He stared at Gajeel and gave him a very long, demanding sort of meow. Gajeel grinned and leaped forward to greet his cat, giving him a good head scratching. The cat's eyes closed for a moment in happiness, then shot open again upon seeing a new person. Gajeel turned his head toward Levy, formally introducing his cat.

"This is the one and only Pantherlily," He practically mused. "I call him Lily for short."

"Hi, Lily," Levy greeted affectionately, kneeling down and putting one of her hands out slowly. Lily stretched his neck out a little to sniff her fingers from a distance, then rubbed his cheek against them. Levy smiled brightly, petting the top of his head. He turned his head away quickly at the sound of a bag of food rustling. Gajeel was filling up Lily's previously empty cat bowl, and placed it on the ground in the kitchen, once again giving him a good head rub. He turned to Levy, who was standing around awkwardly. He was still wearing a grin.

"He's cute," Levy said, leaning over the edge of the counter to look down at the cat.

"Lily's great," Gajeel enthused. "Came by him on accident. I'd been wantin' a cat for a while but couldn't find the right one. Then he came along. Knew he was the perfect one,"

"I've never had any pets," Levy confessed, a bit of a shrug accompanying her comment.

"You're not gonna tell me you aren't a cat person, are 'ya?" Gajeel sneered in kindness. "'Cause if that's the case, we're gonna have a problem with this relationship." Levy's face was about as pink as the cat's nose on the bag of cat food was. She stumbled over her words.

"Well, no, I—I do like cats! I like all animals, I just never had one!" She waved her hands. "I remember having a fish tank as a kid, but it wasn't my responsibility to take care of them. My dad was really big on fish tanks. He had an octopus and several lion fish, and those small shark-looking ones that glided around the bottom and walls of the tank. But I never had any pets, myself."

"You're missing out, sweetheart," Gajeel teased, looking back at Pantherlily. "That guy is the best thing to have walked the earth."

"Is that so?" Levy giggled. "So are you the second best thing, seeing as you're Lily's right-hand-man?" Gajeel gave a short, confident sort of chuckle.

"Damn right!" He said, giving her a thumbs-up and a playful grin. He then circled around the counter and met Levy on the other side of it. He stopped right beside her, leaning on his arms with a sly grin on his face. Levy, however, purposefully looked everywhere _but _in Gajeel's direction, while also taking a gander at the way his apartment looked.

It wasn't really decorated, but the walls certainly weren't bare or boring. On the contrary, Gajeel's front room was quite well-kept. Where it could have used some more vigorous dusting on shelves and commonly non-dusted places, it was actually nice.

"So," Levy began, still examining parts of the room. "What do you do for work?"

"I'm a bartender," He answered easily. Levy's eyes came fixedly down on Gajeel's profile, as he had looked away from her at some point.

"Really?"

"Yep," He confirmed, again with ease. He stood at his full height and turned around. His lower back was against the counter with both hands on either side of it. One of his legs was crossed over the other, and his long hair was nearly brushing the counter top. Levy was still leaning forward on her arms. Perfectly aware of her position and how it might have made her look, she chose not to move for another moment. Instead, she grinned up at Gajeel, who met her gaze with a grin of his own. This, apart from his fearsome, piercing, casual expression, seemed to be the only other expression he had.

"Where do you work?" Levy persisted after a moment or so of silence between the pair.

"We walked past it on the way here. It's probably about halfway between here and your place."

"Oh yeah? Why didn't you point it out?"

"You didn't ask about it until now." Levy nodded, his point true. Only now did she notice that the upper cabinets of Gajeel's kitchen were filled with what looked like various alcohols. Worried that this might effect her opinion, Gajeel made a point to explain his possession of so much alcohol.

"They're for practical use," He mentioned, sounding almost playful.

"Practical use," She repeated, partially raising an eyebrow.

"I hardly ever drink," He confessed with a bit of a shrug. "But whenever people stop by, they almost always demand drinks. Any open or empty bottles are courtesy of my old company. Do you drink?" The question came a few seconds after the end of his sentence. Levy didn't answer right away. She pursed her lips in thought and looked up to a corner of the room, phrasing her answer in her head.

"Hmm, well, I don't usually," She said truthfully. "But I have in the past."

"You don't look like someone who can hold her liquor," Gajeel mentioned off-handedly.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"You don't look like you can hold your liquor. I don't mean anything by it,"

"Well what makes you say that!"

"I dunno, you just look that way!" The pair bickered, more playfully than seriously, back and forth. Pantherlily's ears twitched with their voices.

"I'll prove you wrong, then!" Levy announced, catching the man beside her slightly by surprise. "Fix me something," She said, rounding the back of the couch and sitting on the arm of it. "And then we'll _see_ who can't hold their liquor!" Out of all the things he expected Levy to say that afternoon, he didn't imagine she would demand this, but with a grin and his itch for competition, Gajeel pushed off from the counter side. The way she tilted her head as she waited for his response only made it harder for his grin to fade. Finally, he nodded, and with a slight and singular chuckle, crooned,

"How strong we talkin'?"


	11. CH 11

For the first drink, Gajeel made something quick and simple. It was sweet, and if there was supposed to be any taste of alcohol, it was perfectly masked by the sweetness. Levy thought it was rather pleasant. After she finished the small drink and didn't feel any more than slightly "fuzzy", and after she insisted on another, different drink, Gajeel agreed with a shrug and his trademark grin.

This second time, and the third and fourth time, he provided her with tasty, yet ever-stronger concoctions. Halfway through waiting for her fourth drink, Levy giggled at Pantherlily's tail for no reason, and then expressed her worries that his tail wasn't moving happily enough.

"What are you doing?" Gajeel commented, still mixing her drink at the counter. Levy was rummaging around, making a sound between humming and whining, like she was looking for something. Her little blue head poked up from over the couch and the girl looked like she was about to cry.

"Lily..." She half-sobbed. "Lilyyyyyyyy..." She slumped out of sight, and Gajeel heard the rustling again. He lifted his chin to try and see what exactly she was doing, but he could only see a slim bit of her hair and shorts. He half had the urge to put down his tools and make sure she wasn't literally crying. However, he finished with the last touches, grabbed the glass and stepped to the back of the couch. He looked over, not yet handing her the drink. All he did was watch her from his height as she wriggled around, shoving her hand between the sofa cushions and occasionally pulling out clumps of lint. Each time she did, she looked at it hopefully, then frowned and whined and repeated the cycle. The third time her hand dove between the cushions, she turned her head the right way to see Gajeel standing over her. She slowly smiled and then sat up. She patted the seat next to her, tilting her head and closing her eyes.

Without a grin or any regular expression, Gajeel took a seat on his end of the couch, however made it a point to not sit directly next to Levy. He also switched the drink to the hand farthest from her reach. Meanwhile, she didn't notice, and starting moving her hands down the side of her shirt, as if trying to slide them into pockets. Again, Gajeel watched her do this for a while.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't find my pockets," He looked down at her shirt.

"You don't _have _pockets, Levy."

"But I need a leaf!"

"A—a leaf?"

"Pantherlily is _so upset_..."

"Levy—"

"A leaf will cheer him up, a leaf..." Her face curled into a sort of frown, then her chin crumpled and she bent her head down. Gajeel put the drink down on the table, not sure what to do, and had both of his hands hovering aimlessly in the space between the both of them. She had started crying, and he had absolutely no idea what to do. The girl was crying over _a leaf._

But he couldn't just _let_ her cry. There she was, the tiny bluenette in her simple orange tank top, standing out against the black of his couch. Her color brought an unfamiliar yet welcome warmth to his living room, and even though she was crying, the world didn't seem any more cloudy. Gingerly, Gajeel set his big hand on the shoulder closest to him, and said nothing. In truth, he didn't know what to say at all. So he kept quiet, his hand covering Levy's pale shoulder completely while she sobbed.

After about a minute of it, she had fallen over and curled into a ball. She had fallen, almost to Gajeel's displeasure, away from him. Her feet were lightly pressed against his thigh. She was laying her face in the crook of one of her arms with the other laying limply off the side of the cushions, and she had fallen asleep with the leftover stream of tears across her cheeks.

Gajeel sat there for a number of minutes next to her. His pointed face rested casually in his palm, his mind devoid of any particular thought. Pantherlily hopped up on the table and uttered a low-volume meow, grabbing his attention. The cat was perched almost knowingly beside the drink Levy never got to touch, his tail almost brushing the condensation that had accumulated on the glass. Gajeel leaned forward, careful not to disturb Levy. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands hang between his legs.

"I'll tell 'ya, Lily," He muttered. "I'm pretty glad she didn't see this one," He nudged his head toward the glass. Pantherlily's ear twitched while he listened. Gajeel turned a little to glance at Levy, still passed out. "She had too much." Lily meowed a second time, and Gajeel scoffed. "Don't give me that look!" He stood up, snatched the drink from the table, and simply poured it down the drain, not thinking it much of a waste.

He stood for just a moment with his hands gripping the side of the sink, then left for his own room. He returned a handful of seconds later with a blanket bunched up in his hands, and shook it out. He draped it carefully over the small bundle of Levy, making sure not to accidentally nudge her or wake her up.

"Sorry, squirt," He said with care. "I don't have any clean ones, I had to take this from my bed," He stood up, oddly satisfied and a little embarrassed. Sticking out the end of the blanket, he glimpsed the soles of her light-blue sandals. He looked over his shoulder, as if someone might be watching, then bent over and carefully took them off. He set them next to her bag at the door, then came back and covered her bare feet. He rounded the couch back over to the counter side. He looked over the back of it, watching for any sign of movement. Pantherlily soon took a spot beside him, jumping up on the counter. He rubbed his head against one of Gajeel's toned arms, warranting a series of pets and kind scratches. He looked at the clock at this point, and saw the time to be 4:36pm. He then looked at another clock behind him, expecting to see a different number, then turned back around and heaved a sigh. Lily slumped off the counter.

"Lily, what am I supposed to do with her?" He asked the cat as if he was prone to answer. He merely swished his tail and moved elsewhere, not bothering to give his human friend more of a response than that. Heaving another great sigh, he let his head fall backward. The man stared at the ceiling, spacing out, and eventually decided to go sit in his room until Levy woke up, which was surely not to be for a small number of hours.


	12. CH 12

She faded in and out of a hazy, dreamless blackness. She pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders and face, snuggling it like a pillow or stuffed animal. Each time she moved and started coming back, she would drop off again and skip more time in her sleep. Each skip grew shorter, the closer she came to waking up, and she soon smelled a scent she found herself thinking about more often than not. She gripped the blanket again, stretching a little and then curling back up, cozy.

Eventually, the smell she kept getting whiffs of roused Levy from her sleep. She kept her eyes closed at first, taking in secret breaths purely for the sake of that smell. The more she came to wake up, the more she remembered just what happened before she passed out. Her eyes shot open, and she rubbed them discretely to get rid of any crusts or lines she might have grown while sleeping. With embarrassment and nerves, Levy knew _exactly _where she was.

She sat up, patting her hair down in places it felt lumpy or messed up. She pulled the blanket down and off of her shoulders, and caught the scent again as she did so. She felt her face start burning. The smell she liked so much was Gajeel, and his scent was all over the blanket she was currently bunching up in her lap.

"Good mornin'," The familiar voice sounded from behind her, and Levy whipped around to see Gajeel standing in the kitchen, watching her. He had that grin of his plastered to his face like a trophy. Meanwhile, Levy's own features had turned a shade of red that wasn't unlike a tomato. She hid her face and turned around, putting it in her hands. She still felt a little fuzzy, and had no idea what time it was. She could hear Gajeel's footsteps coming closer.

He sat on the arm of the couch, his own arm draped over the back of it. He was leaning in, still grinning. Levy continued to hide her face. Neither of them said anything, and it was Pantherlily who broke the silence, his meow pushing Gajeel to say something.

"You got a headache, squirt?" Levy said nothing. Her face was still red, she was embarrassed beyond words, she probably looked like a train wreck, she felt like crying again, and Gajeel was _so close_ to her, she could feel his distant breaths on her cheek...

"Hey," Gajeel prod on, his tone a tick more sincere. "You feelin' alright? Hey," He nudged her in the shoulder delicately, and she finally put her hands down, though she looked away. _Shit, _Gajeel thought in regret. _She's not gonna cry again, is she?_

He slid off the arm of the chair and sat next to Levy on the couch, wanting to comfort her. There were several last things he wanted at the moment, and a few of them were Levy to cry again, Levy to hate him for giving her a couple of drinks, Levy to cry again, Levy to feel anything negative at all, Levy to cry again...

He lifted an arm to put it around both of her shoulders, then took it back. He let his knee brush against hers in a subtle show of comfort, and simply stared at her until she said something.

"I'm a big ol' idiot," She sighed, voice trembling. She still didn't want to look directly at him.

"Come on," Gajeel dismissed. "You're not an idiot!"

"Yes I am," She pouted, and sniffled. Gajeel felt his heart skip a beat. If he made her cry a second time in one day...

"I'm sorry for doing this," Levy apologized.

"Doing what?"

"All this," She motioned around her, as if she had created a huge mess of his apartment. "I got ahead of myself. I shouldn't have done that,"

"You didn't do anything!" Gajeel said, a little more forcefully than he intended. He felt a pang in his gut when he heard just _how _he said it, and hoped Levy wasn't going to take it the wrong way. "If it was anybody's fault, it's mine," He attempted to mend his statement with a sincerity he never cared about in the past. Levy looked at him, turning her head ever so slightly. Gajeel was now looking anywhere but Levy, his cheeks the lightest shade of pink. "I...shouldn't 'a given you all that." The pair didn't say anything else for a bit. They sat still, Levy occasionally wiping her face, and not minding the fact that Gajeel's knee was still touching her blanketed one. She looked up to the clock. It was just past 9pm.

"I think I should go home," Levy muttered. Gajeel didn't respond, his gaze still pointed away from her. He felt her leave the couch, setting his blanket between them as she did. She didn't mean anything by the separation, and secretly hoped Gajeel didn't think the placement meant anything. She pulled the ends of her shorts down and fixed up her hair a bit, fluffing it in some places and flattening it in others. She found her shoes near the door, and struggled to remember taking them off. Since she couldn't, Levy figured she must have kicked them off at some point during her drunken episode, and slipped her little sandals back onto her feet. She grabbed the strap of her bag and slung it over her shoulder, then Gajeel stood up.

"See you later," Levy tried to sound better than she felt, but it didn't really come out right. Gajeel went over to the door and opened it for her. He still wasn't saying anything, and watched as she went out the door with her head down. She entered the hall, clutching her shoulder strap with both hands. The door closed behind her, and she heard the clinking of keys—_outside _the door.

She reeled around and saw, to her surprise, Gajeel locking his door closed. He shoved the keys in his pocket, then caught her gaze. He stared at her the same way she stared at him, though without any discernible expression.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking you home,"

"I don't want you to walk me home!"

"Well I'm not letting you walk by yourself, so you're just gonna have to deal with it."

"I don't have to deal with anything!"

"You'll have to deal with me,"

"Gajeel, I'm too out of it to deal with _anyone _right now—"

"I'll walk behind you, and you can pretend I'm not there."

"Gajeel—" She exhaled, impatient. She hadn't really been _looking _at Gajeel during this exchange, but when she said his name again she caught a good look at him. He wasn't grinning. He wasn't being playful, sarcastic, coy, or any other thing he usually came across as. His face was stoic, almost scary in his lack of a smirk. He was looking directly into her eyes, unyielding in his resolve to go with her. Something about his aura felt _off. _He wasn't saying anything, when he would usually be at least grinning down at her. After a long look and the realization she had a headache, Levy took in her previous resolve to _not _let him walk with her, and turned around. She began to walk and Gajeel followed, silent.

They made no conversation, nor any attempts to have one as they walked along. Around the halfway point, Levy noticed the bar Gajeel must have worked for, because a man outside gave him a nod and a friendly smile that he did not return. He also made a gesture toward Levy that she didn't see.

"Screw off," Gajeel growled. Levy turned her head a little and saw the gesturing man look at first challenged, before he backed away from Gajeel's cold stare. Gajeel then took several steps closer to Levy, a movement she didn't mind given what that man behind them may have had in mind for her otherwise. She felt a heavy arm come around and place a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, eyeing him with suspicion. When he glanced down and caught her gaze, he just blew off her peering expression and walked on. Levy couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips, and she never even thought about asking Gajeel to move his arm away.

They came to her apartment complex, where the man let his grip on Levy fall away, somewhat reluctant. She turned around and looked him in the eye. He also looked into hers. Although they hadn't shared so much as a single word since leaving his place, the comfort in that silence held a feeling so spectacular, natural, that she didn't want to break it. She took a breath, the smile from earlier still dancing across her tired features.

"Thanks for walking me," She said a little more quietly than she could have. Gajeel, who hadn't cracked any expression since their departure, felt his cool falter. Something about her in that moment was so compelling, so _reachable_, he felt desperate to feel her skin again. He wavered, only slightly, where he stood. The desire to reach out and grab her was so overwhelming it prevented him from doing anything.

"Don't mention it,"

"You can stay," Levy offered, almost too quickly, after he spoke. "I mean, you know...if you want. We go to the same place in the morning anyway," She continued making excuses for him not to go. "It would be nice to walk with someone for a change," Her tired eyes pleaded with him, who stood without movement during her short explanations. His red eyes blinked, then he looked up to a corner in thought. He'd already locked his door, Pantherlily would be fine. His gym bag was back at home, but he could always just use the equipment at the gym. But he couldn't answer too quickly, he needed to look like he was sitting on it for a few seconds...

"Alright, fine," He answered, perhaps louder than necessary. Levy's smile grew and she tried to keep it hidden, but Gajeel saw it anyway. He, too, smiled with his grin.

They got inside just fine, not bumping into anyone on the way. It might have been awkward, Levy had begun to think, if someone had seen the two of them sneaking up to her apartment at night like that. She blushed at lingering thoughts of _why _others would assume he was there, and pushed her door open. They stepped inside, the setting familiar to both of them. Levy set her bag down by the door, which seemed to be a habit of hers, and set off through the short living area into her bedroom. Gajeel had half a mind to stay and wait for her next to the couch or something, but followed her back there anyway. He leaned on the threshold of her open door, where he watched her take off her shoes and place them under the bed.

"It's a bit messy," Levy was saying. "But I wasn't expecting guests,"

"Don't worry about it," Gajeel dismissed. Honestly, he hadn't even looked at the room nor its contents. He was watching Levy the whole time—just watching her _move..._

"Here, take this one," Levy had gotten up and tossed Gajeel a pillow, knocking him out of his trance. He caught it in one hand, and swung out of the way like a door on hinges when she made to get past. She scooted by him, her front facing his. He watched as she opened a small closet and rummaged through it. Some books fell; she tried whispering her discontent at them, and then eventually pulled out a neatly folded blanket and closed the door. She smiled at him, holding the bundle with two hands. He grinned back without consciously realizing it. Levy put the blanket down on the couch's armrest, and started scooting her coffee table elsewhere.

Abandoning his pillow on the couch, he moved forward to move the table the rest of the way. Levy nodded to him with a smile, brushing a lock of blue hair away from her face.

"Thanks," There was a hint of a giggle in her voice. Gajeel grunted in acknowledgment. He then stood out of the way, once again watching the small girl as she tugged the folded, already-sheeted mattress from her handy pull-out couch.

"There we are!" She commented, suddenly peppy. "It's been a while since I had to pull it out, but the sheets should still be okay. You're alright sleeping out here?" The way she worded and asked the question sounded more like she was confirming something, and half like she wanted him to reconsider _where _he chose to sleep. She tried to make it sound more like concern than a nervous, completely irresponsible and unreasonable desire for him to change his mind.

_Where else would he sleep? Squeezed with _me_ in _my _bed?_

Levy's face reddened.

"I'll survive," Gajeel grinned, giving her a sideways glance. She was trying to hide her face. Doing so only made him look at her more, his grin growing just a tad wider on his features.

"I-I'd offer you some pajamas, but I don't have anything that'd fit your size..." Levy stammered at first, trying to regain her composure. If there had been a right thing and a wrong thing to say, the words that just came out of her mouth were the wrong ones. She had looked up, and was not just staring, but _ogling _at his neck, shoulders, chest, and imagining what he would look like without a shirt on at all...

"If you need anything, I'm just down here!" Levy spouted, turning around again to keep her red face from Gajeel's view. She was playing with her hair again. "Make yourself at home! Goodnight!" She closed the door behind her, soft and slow, to make sure she didn't seem rude or hasty in leaving him alone. She let out perhaps the greatest breath of relief, leaning against her door. She then stood, listening, heart beating heavily, for any resonant sound of movement or shuffling from the other room.

Meanwhile, Gajeel's grin was plastered to his face. He knew now without thinking how Levy acted and knew her little quirks. The way she moved her wrists was sometimes enough to gauge how nervous or excited she was. The way she tilted her head when she was happy, or the _other _way she tilted it if she was upset in some way. And of course, there was playing with her hair...

Gajeel had laid down with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, and he lay envisioning what little of Levy's habits he'd uncovered in their short time together, right down to the way her eyes would move to their upper right corner when she tried to remember something, until he eventually fell asleep.


End file.
